As musical accompaniment for the major Hermann Nitsch retrospective at the Essl Collection, Karlheinz Essl has created a expansive sound installation which has its centre in the Rotunda and, from there, floods the large hall and the galleries with sound. For Nitsch, music has always been an integral element of his Orgien Mysterien Theater, which found its climax in the 6-Day-Play in August 1998. For this meticulously choreographed Gesamtkunstwerk the artist composed an original music score which has recently been released on 51 CDs.
Sound samples from this recording have been used as basic material for the sound installation Le mystère dorgue. A specifically developed computer programme splits these samples into atoms of sound and re-combines them into ever-new sound shapes in real-time. The resulting sound stream wafts through the exhibition halls like an organ sound, surging and receding, thus creating an aura reminiscent of the original orgiastic-mystic environment for Hermann Nitsch’s performance relicts.
The sound installation Le mystère dorgue can be listened to from 17th Oct 2003 to 11th Jan 2004 at the Essl Collection in Klosterneuburg/Vienna.Accessed 10.12.06 from http://www.essl.at